Rain may finally arrive this weekend, but no washout expected

Wednesday

A total solar eclipse was visible in Southeast Asia from 8:38 p.m. to 8:42 p.m. EST on Tuesday. (Credit: NASA)

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The first significant rainfall of the month may arrive in Palm Beach late this weekend as southerly winds usher in a batch of humidity and warmer air.

The only precipitation so far this month at Palm Beach International Airport was a scant 0.01 of an inch on March 1. Except for a trace of rain here and there, it’s been an unusually dry March so far with a precipitation shortfall of 1.20 inches through Wednesday.

Weather Underground predicts 0.13 of an inch Sunday and Monday in Palm Beach; AccuWeather predicts 0.14 of an inch over the weekend and another 0.17 of an inch Monday.

High pressure is expected to build back into the area from the Caribbean early next week, according to Robert Molleda at the National Weather Service in Miami, with drier air settling in. "Highs could reach the mid- to upper-80s over parts of South Florida Tuesday and Wednesday if this pattern holds," he said in today’s weather analysis.

The weekend precipitation forecast from NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center suggests very light amounts of rain from Palm Beach north into Central and North Florida with southern areas like Miami-Dade County and the Keys staying dry.

The latest long-range outlook from the Climate Prediction Center is for dry conditions in South Florida through March 19 followed by more normal rainfall patterns through March 23.

Western Louisiana, meanwhile, is getting hammered this week with rainfall and thunderstorms generated by the strong low pressure system that has taken control in Northern Mexico — the same system that is helping to trigger the strong easterly winds in South Florida in combination with high pressure over the Atlantic.

Parts of the area had received more than 14 inches of rain Tuesday and Wednesday, and the National Weather Service in Shreveport posted a Flash Flood Emergency for Northwest Louisiana.

Shreveport Regional Airport measured 10.75 inches of rain this morning and many area roads were closed due to rising water levels. Residents were advised not to travel.